Paula Rego exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Basel

(Keystone-ATS) The Kunstmuseum Basel is devoting an exhibition to the Portuguese-British artist Paula Rego (1935-2022). Around 120 paintings and pastels, dolls and documents are on display from Saturday until February 2.

“Activist, feminist and author of exuberant and disturbing paintings”, Paula Rego left behind a work marked by her interest in the games of power and hierarchies, the Kunstmuseum Basel said on Thursday. This is the first exhibition dedicated to the artist in the German-speaking world.

“Power dynamics” constitute the leitmotif of the exhibition. We can admire works dealing with the Salazar dictatorship, testifying to Paula Rego’s commitment against the laws restricting abortion in her native country, Portugal, or against British participation in the war in Iraq.

The exhibition “Paula Rego – Power Games” is presented thematically. Literary stories, tales and cartoons have often been a source of inspiration for the artist. It also uses “patterns from the collective unconscious”.

Paula Rogo was born in Lisbon in 1935, during the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. She attended an English school in Portugal and completed her secondary education in England. She studied painting at the Slade School of Fine Arts in London. The 2022 Venice Biennale has dedicated a room to it.